Metal art forms and method for producing the same

ABSTRACT

Molten metal is deposited on a movable plate in an inert atmosphere in a chamber and the plate is tilted, rotated and/or otherwise moved to distribute the molten metal to produce an art form. The metal is cooled sufficiently to solidify the art form and then various surface areas of the art form are subjected at selected elevated temperatures to chemical reaction with a selected reactive gas or mixture of gases to produce corresponding surface colorations in the various areas of the metal art form.

O Umted States Patent 1191 1111 3,738,417 Moore [4 June 12, 1973 [54] METAL ART FORMS AND METHOD FOR 2,092,033 9/1937 Stroup 148/203 PRODUCING E SAME 2,266,117 12/1941 Crocker et al.. 148/203 2,825,108 3/1958 Pond 164/276 UX 1 Inventorr Norman Moore, 215 East 14th, 2,929,752 3/1960 Treat el al... 148/203 x Albany, Oreg. 97321 3,354,937 11/1967 Jackson, Jr. 164/122 X [22] Filed: May 24, 1971 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 211 App] NOJ 14 4 9 723,809 2/1955 Great Britain 164/4 261,491 11/1928 Italy 164/252 Related U.S. Application Data [63] Continuation of Ser. No. 816,534, April 16, 1969, Primary ExaminerR. Spencer Annear abandoned. Attorney-Oliver D. Olson [52] U.S. Cl 164/76, 148/203, 164/114 57 ST T [51] Int. Cl B22d 13/04 58 Field 61 Search 164/47, 52, 66, 76, M meta l a "Mable l 164,122 127 128 136 252 259 270 276. inert atmosphere In a chamber and the plate is tilted,

l 48/20 5 6 rotated and/or otherwise moved to distribute the molten metal to produce an art form. The metal is cooled sufficiently to solidify the art form and then various sur- [56] References cued face areas of the art form are subjected at selected ele- UNITED STATES PATENTS vated temperatures to chemical reaction with a se- 884,571 4/1908 Cowing 164/113 X lected reactive gas or mixture of gases to produce cori; gt et responding surface colorations in the various areas of ap es 1,291,603 1/1919 Nagy 164/276 the metal 2,076,798 4/1937 Teeple 164/128 X 3 Claims, 2 Drawing Figures PATENTEDJUN 1 2191s INVENTOR Norman D. Moore METAL ART FORMS AND METHOD FOR PRODUCING THE SAME CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION This application is a continuation of my earlier application Ser. No. 816,534, filed Apr. 16, 1969, now abandoned.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to metal art forms, and more particularly to novel metal art forms characterized by a free-flowing appearance, to metal art forms having novel surface colorations, and to the method and apparatus for. producing such art forms.

Metal art forms provided heretofore have been produced by cutting, stamping or casting metals into precise, predetermined shapes, and their appearance reflects these types of mass production. Further, such metal art forms heretofore have been colored by painting selected areas with pigmented paints of desired colors. This procedure gives an artificial appearance which is displeasing to the eye unless performed by a skilled artist. Moreover, such surface colorations are subject to deterioration by the elements of the atmosphere and are susceptible to scratching and other damage. 1

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In its basic concept the present invention provides metal art forms by the controlled flow of molten metal over a support to create free flowing designs, and provides colored metal art forms by the chemical reaction of different surface areas of a metal art form with selected metal-reactive gases at selected temperatures which produce corresponding colorations.

It is by virtue of the foregoing basic concept that the principal objective of the present invention is achieved, namely to overcome the disadvantages of prior metal art forms, as enumerated hereinbefore.

Another important object of the present invention is to provide apparatus for performing the method of the present invention to produce the novel metal arm forms of the present invention.

The foregoing and other objects and advantages of the present invention will appear from the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing of the preferred embodiment of the apparatus of the present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a foreshortened, fragmentary vertical elevation, partly in section, of apparatus embodying features of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a metal art form produced by the method and apparatus of the present invention, various areas of diverse colorations being illustrated by appropriate shadings.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS solid at normal atmospheric temperature. If the metal art form is to be colored in accordance with the present invention it may be made of any metal or alloy which is capable of reacting chemically with any one or more of a variety of a reactive gases which, at various temperatures of the metal or alloy below the melting point thereof, produces metallic compounds of characteristic color.

For example, a metal alloy containing cobalt may be reacted with nitrogen at a selected temperature to produce a red coloration, or may be reacted with oxygen to produce a brown coloration. An alloy containing aluminum may be reacted with nitrogen to produce a yellow coloration, or with oxygen to produce a white color. An alloy containing iron and carbon may be reacted with nitrogen to produce a blue coloration, or with oxygen to produce a red color. An alloy containing manganese may be treated with nitrogen to produce a rose red coloration. An alloy containing chromium may be treated with oxygen to produce red, yellow or green colorations, depending upon the temperature of reaction, and with nitrogen to produce a purple coloration; An alloy containing vanadium may be reacted with oxygen at various temperatures to produce grey, black, blue and reddish yellow colorations. An alloy containing titanium may be reacted with oxygen to produce a brown or black coloration.

Other metals and other reactive gases, such as hydrogen, acetylene, etc., may be employed to produce desired characteristic colorations.

In accordance with the present invention metal art forms are produced which are characterized by free flowing designs. Such a metal art form is produced by heating a metal or alloy to its melting point and then distributing the molten metal over the surface of a support to create a desired art form.

The molten metal may be distributed on a support in a normal atmospheric environment. However, it is preferred that this be done in a chamber which is either evacuated or provided with an inert atmosphere, such as argon, to prevent contamination, atmospheric oxidation, or other undesirable chemical reaction.

Distribution of the molten metal over the surface of the support may be achieved by moving a container of molten metal relative to the support, by moving the support relative to the container, or by moving both the container and support relative to each other. The latter is preferred since it provides maximum versatility in creating diverse designs. Further, by tilting the support from a horizontal plane, the molten metal may be flowed in waves or streaks, and by rotating the support about a substantially vertical axis the molten metal may be caused to flow centrifugally in helical swirls to produce a variety of designs.

Distribution of the molten metal may be accomplished in stages, with intermittent cooling, to produce varying thicknesses throughout the art form for pleasing three dimensional effects.

When the desired art form design has been achieved, the molten metal is allowed to cool to solidify the design.

The present invention also provides for the production of colored metal art forms. In this regard the basic metal art form may be produced in the manner previously described, or it may be produced by any of the prior conventional techniques of cutting, stamping or casting. The procedure of the present invention is preferred, however, for the more unique and pleasing appearance of the free flowing designs.

Assuming that the basic metal art form has been produced and has been cooled to atmospheric temperature, the procedure for coloring it is as follows: A selected area of the art form is reheated to a selected temperature, preferably from its back side, and the front surface then is flooded with a selected gas or mixture of gases which are reactive chemically with the metal or certain constituents of the metal alloy at that temperature to produce one or more metallic compounds of characteristic color. This procedure is repeated at various other selected areas of the art form, at the same or different temperatures and with the same or different gases, to produce a variety of colorations.

In the preferred method of the present invention, the art form is produced by depositing molten metal or alloy on a support in an inert atmosphere in a chamber. As the metal art form thus produced is cooled from its molten state, a selected gas or mixture of gases are introduced into the chamber at selected temperatures of the art form, to produce in selected areas metallic compounds of desired colorations. Diverse colors are developed in the art form because of the different temperatures in various areas of the art form. For example, thicker areas of the art form cool more slowly than thinner areas and therefore are subject to chemical reaction with the gases at higher temperatures to produce different colors.

To exemplify the foregoing, reference is made to FIG. 2 of the drawing which illustrates an art form in the design of an angel fish made from a titanium alloy consisting, in parts by weight, of 0.006 parts carbon, 5.33 parts aluminum, 0.018 parts iron, 2.61 parts tin, 0.05 parts magnanese, four parts nickel, three parts chromium and the balance titanium. This alloy was heated to 3,200 F. and poured from a container onto a support in an evacuated chamber and the support manipulated to produce the design illustrated. As the art form solidified and cooled toward atmospheric temperature, a mixture of nitrogen and oxygen gases was introduced into the chamber. Because of the relative thicknesses of various areas of the art form, the following colorations were developed: In the thickest areas 10, which cooled at the slowest rate, varying shades of blue were developed at temperatures ranging from about 1,400 F. to about 1,600 F. In the next thicker areas 12 red colorations were produced at temperatures ranging from about 1,300 F. to about l,450 F. In the next thinner areas 14 the gold colorations were produced at temperatures ranging from about l,200 F. to about l,350 F. The gold coloration of the central portion 14' of the eye was formed by a procedure described hereinafter. In the thinnest areas 16 the silver colorations represent the color of the base metal alloy which, at temperatures below about l,200 F. had no significant chemical reaction with the gases.

In FIG. 1 of the drawing there is illustrated a form of apparatus suitable for producing metal art forms of the present invention in accordance with the method of the present invention. The apparatus includes a hollow housing defined by side walls 20 and 22, rear wall 24, front wall 26, bottom wall 28 and top wall 30. An opening 32 in the front wall is removably closed by the door 34 provided with a transparent section 36 of glass of synthetic plastic. A conduit 38 communicates at one end with the interior of the housing and at its opposite end (not shown), through a control valve 40 with a vacuum pump or with a source of inert gas, by which the interior of the container may be provided with an inert atmosphere.

Supported within the housing upon the bottom wall 28 is a pair of laterally spaced rails 42. These rails mount the wheels 44 of a carriage 46 for longitudinal reciprocation. One of the wheels is connected through a gear 48 and worm 50 to an electric motor 52 mounted on the carriage. Flexible electrical conductors (not shown) extend from the motor outwardly through appropriate seals in one of the housing walls for connection to a suitable source of electric potential.

A pair of spaced rails 54 are mounted on the carriage 46 substantially normal to the rails 42, and mount the wheels 56 of a carriage 58 for reciprocative movement substantially normal to the reciprocative movement of the carriage 46. One of the wheels is secured through a gear 60 and worm 62 to the electric drive motor 64.

A pair of spaced, upstanding supports 66 on the carriage 58 mount a shaft 68 at their upper ends. On one end of the shaft is secured a segment gear 70 which meshes with a worm 72 driven by the electric motor 74 mounted on the carriage 58. Also secured to the shaft 68, intermediate the ends thereof and extending normal thereto, is a shaft 76. The projecting ends of this shaft freely mount the spaced bearing lugs 78 projecting downward from the support block 80. To one projecting end of the shaft 76 is secured a segment gear 82 which meshes with a worm 84 driven by an electric motor 86 mounted on the block.

The block supports an upstanding shaft 88 for rotation relative thereto. The upper end of the shaft mounts a table 90 which functions to support molten metal for creating metal art forms. Intermediate the ends of the shaft is secured a gear 92 which meshes with a worm 94 driven by an electric motor 96 mounted on the block.

By virtue of the foregoing assembly the table may be moved universally by selective operation of the electric drive motors, conveniently from a control panel 98 on the front wall 26 of the housing. Thus, by activation of the motor 52 the table may be moved in the longitudinal direction of the rails 46. By activation of the electric motor 64 the table may be moved in the direction transversely of the rails 46 and in the longitudinal direction of the rails 54. By activation of the electric motor 74 the table may be tilted about the axis of the shaft 68. By activation of the electric motor 86 the table may be tilted about the axis of the shaft 76. Finally, by activation of the electric motor 96 the table may be rotated about the axis of the shaft 88.

If desired, the table may be provided with internal passageways for the circulation of a coolant. It may also be provided with one or more electrical heating elements by which to effect the heating of selected areas of an art form support on the table.

Means is provided for depositing molten metal on th table. In the embodiment illustrated a pair of laterally spaced rails 100 are mounted above the table between the front and rear walls of the housing. These rails mount the wheels 102 of a carriage 104 for longitudinal reciprocation. One of the wheels is connected to a gear 106 which engages a worm 108 driven by an electric motor 110 mounted on the carriage 104. The carriage supports a pair of spaced rails 112 mounted normal to the rails 100 and supporting the wheels 114 of a carriage 116. One of the wheels is connected to a gear 118 which engages a worm 120 driven by an electric motor 122 mounted on the carriage 116.

Projecting downward from the carriage 116, through a central opening in carriage 104, is a pair of spaced supports 124. Positioned between the supports adjacent the lower ends thereof is a metal receptacle 126. Stub shafts 128 extend from opposite sides of the receptacle and are journaled for rotation in the spaced supports. To the projecting end of one of the stub shafts is secured a segment gear 130 which meshes with a worm 132 driven by an electric motor 134 mounted on one of the supports 124.

An electrode 136 of the metal or alloy to be melted extends slidably through a seal 138 in the top wall of the housing. Its upper end is securedc removably in an electrically insulated socket 140 secured to a transverse frame 142. One or more upstanding guide posts 144 on the top wall 30 receives slidably therethrough a corresponding guide bearing 146 on the frame. One the side of the socket 140 opposite the guide posts the frame supports rotatably an internally threaded hub 148 of a gear 150. The internally threaded hub receives therethrough a threaded post 152 projecting upward from the top wall 30. The gear meshes with a worm 154 driven by an electric motor 156 mounted on a bracket extending from the frame 142. Accordingly, activation of the electric motor 156 effects vertical movement of the frame 142 and hence the position of the lower end of the electrode 136 relative to the receptacle 126. Water cooled electrical conductors 160 and 162 extend from the electrode and rectpacle, respectively, for connection to a suitable source of electric potential for creating an arc between the electrode and receptacle for the purpose of melting the electrode and for maintaining molten the metal within the receptacle, as will be understood.

It will be apparent that many other well known means, such as induction, electron beam and other heating means may be utilized in place of the arc system illustrated, for providing molten metal in the receptacle.

Means also is provided for introducing into the housing one or more gases which are reactive chemically with the metal or alloy of which the art form is created. To this end aheader 164 mounted on the outer side of the housing communicates at one end with the inside of the housing. Connected to the header, each through a control valve 166, are a plurality of conduits 168 each communicating with a source of gas under pressure. These may be nitrogen, oxygen, hydrogen, acetylene and others which are reactive with the metals or alloys to produce desired colorations.

In the operation of the apparatus described hereinbefore to produce the angel fish art form illustrated in FIG. 2, the titanium alloy previously described is provided in the form of the electrode 136. With the housing evacuated or filled with insert gas, the electric motor 156 is energized to lower the electrode toward the receptacle 126 and the are thus established effects melting of the electrode. The molten metal in the receptacle then is poured from the latter, by activation of the electric motor 134 to tilt the receptacle to the degree desired. One or both of the electric motors 74, 86 then is energized to tilt the table sufficiently to effect flow of the metal. The receptacle 126 also may be moved by activation of the electric motors 110, 122 to initiate the formation of the stringers simulating the tail of the fish. The electric motor 96 then is energized to effect rotation of the table to shape the side stringers arcuately. Areas of varying thicknesses may be built up by allowing the initial pour to harden and then redepositing additional molten metal in the desired areas.

When the basic art form has been completed, it is allowed to cool and solidify. When the temperature of the art form has lowered to approximately 1,600 F., the source of vacuum or inert gas is sealed from the housing by closing the valve 40, and nitrogen and oxygen are introduced into the housing through the appropriate valves 166. The thickest areas 10 thus take on blue colorations of varying shades, while the areas of lesser thicknesses, being at correspondingly lower tem peratures, take on the previously described colorations.

When the art form has cooled, the door 34 is re.- moved from the housing and the art form removed through it.

Additional colorations may be added, as desired, after the art form has been removed from the apparatus. For example, the central portion 14' of the blue eye of the angle fish is changed to gold color by buffing or otherwise removing the blue colored metallic compound in that area and then reheating said area with an acetylene torch to a temperature of between about l,200 F. and 1,350 F.

It will be apparent from the foregoing that a wide variety of metal art forms, with a multitude of colorations, may be produced by the method and apparatus of the present invention merely by appropriate selection of metals and alloys, reactive gases and temperatures. The free flowing designs are distinctive in character and the colorations are resistant to deterioration and damage.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes may be made in the method steps, reactive materials and conditions, and in the size, number, type and arrangement of parts of the apparatus described herein, without departing from the spirit of this invention.

Having now described my invention and the manner in which it may be used, I claim:

1. The method of making an original metal art form, comprising:

a. heating the metal to its molten condition in a container,

b. pouring the molten metal from the container onto an unconfined surface of an imperforate support while moving the container and support relative one to the other in a plurality of predetermined different directions to cause the molten metal to flow freely over the surface of the support in diverse directions to produce a unitary art form of freeflowing design,

c. cooling the metal to solidify the art form,

d. subjecting different surface areas of the metal art form to chemical reaction with one or more gases reactive with the metal at selected temperatures below the melting point of the metal to produce correspondingly different surface area colorations,

e. cooling the chemically reactive art form,

f. removing the surface area coloration from a predetermined portion of the colored area,

g. heating said area portion to a predetermined temperature, and

h. contacting said heated area portion with one or more gases reactive with the metal at said predetermined temperature to produce a coloration in said area portion different from the coloration of the adjacent area.

2. The method of making an original metal art'form,

comprising:

a. heating the metal to its molten condition in a container,

b. pouring the molten metal from the container onto an unconfined surface of an imperforate support while moving the container and support relative one to the other in a plurality of manually selected different directions to cause the molten metal to flow freely over the surface of the support in diverse directions selected to create a unitary art form of free-flowing design,

surface of the art form with said gas during cooling of the art form, whereby the different areas of different temperatures react with the gas to produce correspondingly different surface area colorations. 

1. The method of making an original metal art form, comprising: a. heating the metal to its molten condition in a container, b. pouring the molten metal from the container onto an unconfined surface of an imperforate support while moving the container and support relative one to the other in a plurality of predetermined different directions to cause the molten metal to flow freely over the surface of the support in diverse directions to produce a unitary art form of free-flowing design, c. cooling the metal to solidify the art form, d. subjecting different surface areas of the metal art form to chemical reaction with one or more gases reactive with the metal at selected temperatures below the melting point of the metal to produce correspondingly different surface area colorations, e. cooling the chemically reactive art form, f. removing the surface area coloration from a predetermined portion of the colored area, g. heating said area portion to a predetermined temperature, and h. contacting said heated area portion with one or more gases reactive with the metal at said predetermined temperature to produce a coloration in said area portion different from the coloration of the adjacent area.
 2. The method of making an original metal art form, comprising: a. heating the metal to its molten condition in a container, b. pouring the molten metal from the container onto an unconfined surface of an imperforate support while moving the container and support relative one to the other in a plurality of manually selected different directions to cause the molten metal to flow freely over the surface of the support in diverse directions selected to create a unitary art form of free-flowing design, c. cooling the supported metal to solidify the art form, and d. subjecting different surface areas of the metal art form to chemical reaction with one or more gases reactive with the metal at selected temperatures below the melting point of the metal to produce correspondingly different surface area colorations.
 3. The method of claim 2 wherein the metal art form has different areas of different thicknesses which cool at correspondingly different rates, and wherein the step of subjecting different surface areas of the metal art form to chemical reaction comprises contacting the surface of the art form with said gas during cooling of the art form, whereby the different areas of different temperatures react with the gas to produce correspondingly different surface area colorations. 